15 killed by mudslide in China amid heavy rain from tropical storm Gaemi
28 July 2024, 13:34
Before reaching China, the typhoon intensified monsoon rains in the Philippines, leaving at least 34 dead, and swept across Taiwan, where 10 died.
Fifteen people were killed when a mudslide hit a homestay house in a tourist area in south-eastern China on Sunday as heavy rain from what remained of a tropical storm drenched the region, state media said.
Elsewhere in China, a delivery person on a scooter died when they were hit by a falling tree in Shanghai on Saturday, apparently because of storm-related winds, according to The Paper, a digital news outlet.
The deaths were the first in China that appear linked to Typhoon Gaemi, which weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall on Thursday.
Before reaching China, the typhoon intensified monsoon rains in the Philippines, leaving at least 34 dead, and swept across the island of Taiwan, where the death toll has risen to 10, authorities said late on Saturday.
The mudslide struck the house in Yuelin village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Hengyang city in Hunan province, at about 8am on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV said in a series of online reports.
About 12in (30cm) of rain was recorded in the area over a 24-hour period.
Six injured people were rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.
The owner of the house initially reported that 18 people were trapped, but a search and rescue team later determined that three more people were unaccounted for, CCTV said.
The one-storey house offered food and accommodation near Hengshan, a mountain in a scenic area where tourists come at weekends to escape the summer heat, a report by The Paper said.
The scenic areas were being closed from Sunday because of the rains until further notice, even before the mudslide.
An earlier report said 18 people were trapped by the mudslide, and that six injured people had been rescued.
The reports said the mudslide was triggered by water rushing down the mountains from heavy rains. They did not mention Gaemi but the China Meteorological Administration said rain linked to the tropical storm hit south-eastern parts of Hunan province on Saturday.
In Shanghai, a photo posted by The Paper showed a delivery scooter on its side mostly covered by leafy branches near the still-standing barren trunk of a tree. It said winds from the storm were the suspected cause, and that the investigation is continuing.
The wide arc of the tropical storm was also bringing heavy rain to Liaoning province in north-eastern China, about 1,200 miles (2,000km) away.
The Linjiang city government in Jilin province posted a notice on social media asking residents living below the third floor to move to higher places on Sunday as the Yalu River, which forms the border with North Korea, rose above the warning level.
Hundreds of chemical and mining companies suspended operations from Saturday as a precautionary measure and more than 30,000 people had been evacuated, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Nearly 40 trains were suspended until Thursday for safety reasons after steady rain in recent days created hazards and damaged tracks.
Two more people were reported dead in Taiwan, raising the death toll to 10, the island’s Central News Agency said, quoting the emergency operation centre. Two others were missing, and 895 people were injured.
The latest victims were a man found in a drainage ditch and another man who died in a car accident.
More than 800 people remained in shelters in Taiwan as of Saturday night, and more than 5,000 households were without power.
The typhoon caused nearly 1.7 billion new Taiwan dollars (£40.2 million) damage to crops, including bananas, guavas and pears, chicken and other livestock farming, and oyster and other fisheries, the Central News Agency said, citing figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.
A cargo ship sank off Taiwan’s shore during the typhoon, killing the captain, while eight other ships ran aground.
